Biden Has Skin Cancer Lesion Removed in Feb., White House Says

US President Joe Biden arrives at alter Reed National Military Medical Center in Feb - AP
US President Joe Biden arrives at alter Reed National Military Medical Center in Feb - AP
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Biden Has Skin Cancer Lesion Removed in Feb., White House Says

US President Joe Biden arrives at alter Reed National Military Medical Center in Feb - AP
US President Joe Biden arrives at alter Reed National Military Medical Center in Feb - AP

US President Joe Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest in February that was a basal cell carcinoma - a common form of skin cancer - and no further treatment is needed, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said on Friday.

All cancerous tissue was successfully removed, the White House physician said in a letter, adding that Biden will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing healthcare but the site had healed.

Last month, doctors declared Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" after a physical examination. They said at the time that a small lesion had been removed from his chest and sent for a biopsy.

O'Connor said in the letter that basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to spread or metastasize.

According to Reuters, Biden's three-hour session with doctors in February at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.



North Korea's Kim Jong Un Attends New Year's Celebrations with Daughter

This photo provided on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter, second left, attend a New Year celebration in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 31, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
This photo provided on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter, second left, attend a New Year celebration in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 31, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
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North Korea's Kim Jong Un Attends New Year's Celebrations with Daughter

This photo provided on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter, second left, attend a New Year celebration in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 31, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
This photo provided on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, by the North Korean government, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter, second left, attend a New Year celebration in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 31, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae attended New Year's celebrations including fireworks and an ice dancing display, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.
Senior North Korean officials joined them in watching the events, state media photos showed. There was no mention of any speech by Kim.
KCNA said on the previous day that Kim had pledged to solidify the country's comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia in a letter to President Vladimir Putin.
In the message, Kim sent New Year greetings to Putin and all Russians, including their troops and expressed his willingness to further step up bilateral ties, which he said the two leaders have elevated to a new height this year, through new projects, KCNA said.
Kim "wished that the New Year 2025 would be recorded as the first year of victory in the 21st century when the Russian army and people would defeat neo-Nazism and achieve a great victory," KCNA said.

Kim and Putin signed a mutual defense treaty at a summit in June, which calls for each side to come to the other's aid in case of an armed attack.
North Korea has since dispatched tens of thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, and Seoul and Washington said that more than a thousand of them have been killed or wounded.